Boy Who Wouldn't Share by Mike Reiss, David Catrow (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Edward has oodles of toys but doesn't share any of them with his little sister, Claire. She cannot ride his rocking horse, hug his teddy bear, or even think about touching his Slinky.

"They're mine!"

he says. That is, until one day when Edward finds himself stuck under his enormous pile of toys and can't move! With a little help from an unlikely ally, he learns that if he can share with others, they'll share right back with him.

Mike Reiss's wickedly funny verse and David Catrow's remarkable gift for comic illustration make this one book you'll want to share—again and again!

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1- Reiss and Catrow team up again for another humorous picture book. Edward, a "frightful boy," will not share any toys with his younger sister. When she touches something, he cries, "IT'S MINE. MINE. MINE!" Overcome by greed, he gets stuck in his tangle of toys and misses the opportunity for homemade fudge. Claire, not one to hold grudges, helps free her brother and shares her chocolate. After Edward apologizes profusely, the siblings spend the day playing happily. The rhyming text is pleasant but flawed. Edward's dramatic character shift is hard to believe, and one wonders why he doesn't shout "help" when his mother is nearby. Catrow's colorful, amusing illustrations are the highlight here. With every viewing, readers see additional delightful details, such as a blow-up Frankenstein doll drinking tea from a dainty cup and a cat whose stripes match the easy chair. The varying perspectives of the children and the toys add to the fun. Edward's sour, grumpy expressions are exaggerated and comical; children learning to share will belly laugh even as they see a reflection of themselves. Overall, this would be a good addition to early childhood collections.-Barbara Katz, Parish Episcopal School, Dallas, TX

Kirkus Reviews

Even Catrow's flamboyantly over-the-top art can't completely rescue this superficial cautionary tale from the heap of mediocre, heavy-handed takes on the theme. Bulbous, sour-faced Edward resolutely guards his heaping pile of toys from little sister Claire (who looks remarkably like Cindy Lou Who in both posture and visage)-"IT'S MINE. MINE. MINE!" Then Mom comes in with a plate of fudge, and so buried is he in the stack that she passes it all to Claire. Edward instantly changes his tune: " ‘Share my toys,' said Edward. ‘Take them. / Hold them! Hug them! You can break them!' " Edward gets some fudge, and off the two go to play in happy harmony thereafter. Right. Young readers will enjoy picking Edward's toys, which range from a wizard's hat and a blow-up, life-size Frankenstein to a "Yeti in a Can," out of the jumble, but his obviously fudge-driven remorse is entirely too sudden and heartfelt to be credible. Kids will relish the illustrations and get a guffaw or two, though, and that can't be all bad. (Picture book. 6-8)

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